That’s the only explanation I can come up with to explain why both the Conservative and New Democratic parties recently released negative attack ads of unbelievably poor quality.
You might say they are running negative ads simply for the sake of running negative ads.
Sound harsh?
Well let’s review the two spots.
The Conservative ad, which came out a few weeks ago, takes a shot at NDP leader Thomas Mulcair.
More specifically, it lambastes Mulcair for his “risky theories” and “dangerous economic experiments” and suggests he wants to impose a carbon tax on consumer goods and thwart free trade
It also highlights Mulcair’s recent comments about Canada supposedly suffering from “Dutch Disease.”
Now admittedly, this ad has all the standard ingredients that go into making an attack spot: black and white imagery to make the Mulcair look menacing, ominous music and a voice of doom narration.
But the problem with this ad is the messaging—simply put, it’s vague and confusing, meaning it won’t resonate with voters.
It assumes voters know what “Dutch Disease” means; it assumes voters know what a carbon tax is; it assumes voters know or care about trade policy.
And those are all massive assumptions.
Plus, at one point in the ad the words, “Make them pay now for what they are doing” flash on the screen.
What the heck does that mean? Did Mulcair say that? If he did, so what? Who are “they” and what exactly are they “doing?”
It’s just a bad ad.
Now let’s consider the more recent NDP spot.
It features unflattering photos of Prime Minister Harper; scary drum music and, like the Tory spot, it focuses on economics.
The ad suggests that Harper led Canada into a recession, that his cuts to social programs hurt “vulnerable” Canadians, and that he created a massive deficit.
So what’s wrong with that?
Well, first off the NDP spot has incredibly poor production values. It looks for all the world like something a teenager put together for a school project.
Worse, the message in the ad is muddled; it crams the recession, social polices and the deficit into a 30 second spot meaning it lacks both clarity and focus.
Why not just zero in on the cutting social programs angle?
Plus, people who care about deficits are probably not so concerned about cutting social programs and vice versa.
And finally the NDP spot, like the Tory ad, was released during the dog days of summer when virtually no one will be paying attention.
In short, it seems both the Conservatives and New Democrats put little strategic thought or planning into their attack spots.
Both ads seem like they were rushed into production.
So why are the NDP and Tories producing such second-rate material?
My theory is these ads were not designed for the general public or to sway voters. Instead their purpose is to keep the NDP and Conservative bases happy.
For instance, the Conservatives probably hurriedly released their ad to placate donors panicking over the party’s recent slide in the polls. The Tories are basically saying, “Never fear, we will do to Mulcair what we did to Ignatieff.”
Meanwhile, the NDP likely churned out its ad to respond to the Tory attack. The real message of the ad is “We won’t let the Tories beat us in a gutter fight. We will fight fire with fire.”
In a way this makes sense.
However, all this tough-guy posturing by the NDP and Conservatives might also have an unintended consequence.
It might help the Liberals.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Gerry Nicholls
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